Enigma of Combination
The Enigma of Combination is one of the artifacts of the Thirteen. Possessed by Nexus Prime, it is not only capable of fostering unity and cooperation of the minds of sentient creatures in its proximity, but also of bestowing one of the greatest abilities known to Cybertronians—that of combination. This ancient tool can instantaneously merge any Cybertronians together into a combiner, enhance the power and mental stability of pre-existing combiners, or integrate new components into pre-existing combiner teams. Fiction ''The Covenant of Primus'' In ancient times, Nexus Prime wielded the Enigma of Combination, which contained a fraction of his own combinational powers. Much like its owner, the Enigma frequently changed size and shape, making it impossible to predict or keep track of. IDW Generation 1 continuity In the ancient past of Cybertron, some twelve million years ago, the first known holder of the Enigma of Combination was the haughty Nexus Prime. According to Alpha Trion, the Enigma and the other Artifacts of the Primes were "metaphors made real;" by channeling a primal force of the universe. In his youth, Trion memorized the artifact's "source code," and later noted that the artifact predated the rise of the Thirteen. During the First Cybertronian Civil War, Nexus Prime and his tribe allied with Onyx Prime, and the pair used the Enigma to create the first Headmasters by combining humanoid Transformers with Onyx's bestial followers. The Darklander warrior Galvatron was of the opinion that Onyx only tolerated Nexus due to the fact that the latter owned the Enigma; sickened by the "abominations" that the Enigma produced, Galvatron waged a bloody crusade in the name of Cybertronian "purity" and slaughtered the Headmasters to the last 'bot before killing Nexus and taking the Enigma. In the age that followed, Galvatron would partner with Nova Prime, who, to accomplish his dream of an interstellar "expansion," sought to use combiners as a weapon of conquest. Galvatron lied and claimed that Nexus had fled the planet and took the Enigma with him. Alpha Trion could detect the falsehood in Galvatron's words — none had ever known whether or not the Enigma was anything more than a concept, but Galvatron clearly knew it to be a physical object. Realizing that he had accidentally tipped his hand, Galvatron shot the Enigma into space to put it beyond anyone's reach, hoping that the Enigma would crash and burn up in a distant star. While stories of the Enigma's capabilities survived into the modern era of Cybertron, most Cybertronians dismissed the artifact as a myth. Different groups of Transformers would infrequently attempt to recreate the "lost art" of combination, but what few successful combiners they produced were brutish and imperfect. After drifting in space for millennia, the Enigma fell to Earth seven to eight million years ago in the region that would one day become . While developing his Regenesis initiative, Shockwave, aware that the Enigma of Combination was somewhere on the planet, selected it as one of the thirteen planets involved with his plan. Eventually, Onyx Prime — who had fled Cybertron at the conclusion of the First Cybertronian Civil War — became aware that the Enigma still existed in the universe and sent Domitius Major and the crew of the Axalon to find and retrieve it for him. When the Axalon failed to return, Onyx sent another one of his servants to Earth in the form of the Titan Master Sovereign. Disguised as a human and extensively conditioned with false memories, Sovereign — who would come to take up the identity of "G.B. Blackrock," — was sent to find the Enigma and summon his master when he did so. It is currently unknown how long Sovereign was active on Earth for; as "Blackrock," he claimed that the Enigma was first discovered by primitive humans some six thousand years ago at the intersection of the and rivers. Its energies supposedly "combined" the thoughts and ideas of these early tribes, and the ancient warrior Gilgamesh would raise the city of Uruk to protect it. According to Blackrock, Gilgamesh passed the artifact to his children, and, over the centuries, this lineage — from which Blackrock supposedly took his surname — would use the Enigma to unite great minds in times of need, leading to breakthroughs such as the atomic bomb and the internet. Owing to Sovereign's jumbled state of mind, the veracity of these statements are unclear. What is known is that, sometime prior to 2012, Blackrock came into possession of the Enigma while scouring the earth for Cybertronian artifacts. Unaware of his "Sovereign" persona and the original reason why he had been sent to Earth, Blackrock deduced that the artifact was of Cybertronian origin and used it to jumpstart the lucrative Onyx corporation, tapping its quantum source code to develop miraculous new breakthroughs in interlinked software and robotics. Over the next three years, Blackrock would use it to engineer his army of reverse-engineered Seeker clones into combiners, translate the Cybertronian language, , and eventually develop the cutting-edge Onyx Interface: an all-encompassing software suite that connected every piece of Onyx tech to each other through the Enigma source code. Ex-Skywatch agent Spike Witwicky became aware of Blackrock's possession of the Enigma; hoping that the relic would provide a clue as to why the Transformers had constantly interfered with Earth's development, he planned to steal it from the Wanmu warehouse where Blackrock stored his extraterrestrial curios. Around 2012, Alpha Trion deduced the location of the Engima and set out to Earth to retrieve it. He left his travelling companion Metroplex in the care of the Camien cityspeaker Windblade and cryptically informed her and her friends that he was hunting for "the holy grail". After rescuing Trion from EDC custody, Optimus Prime learned of the Enigma's existence from Alpha Trion and ordered his lieutenant Prowl to search for it while he returned to Cybertron. Both Prowl and Galvatron — now leader of the Decepticons — realized that Spike likely had some information about the Enigma's whereabouts, and both attempted to hunt him down. Galvatron managed to convince his sibling Arcee to temporarily put aside their differences so that they could destroy the Enigma once and for all, but Prowl and the Constructicons allied with Spike and beat them to the punch, using Devastator to attack the Onyx facility. Despite Blackrock's best efforts to put the Enigma beyond his reach, Devastator easily captured the artifact but quickly went berserk at the sight of Spike. As he went berserk, Galvatron's forces arrived to try and seize the Enigma, and an enraged Devastator hurled the Enigma at Arcee in fury. In the chaos, Galvatron's underling Scoop — in reality, a secret mole for Cybertron's leader Starscream — absconded with the Enigma and flew off to deliver the artifact to his boss, who was hoping to obtain a combiner of his own. Galvatron grimly predicted that this would soon mean the end of Cybertronian society. Having recovered the comatose body of Superion, Starscream recruited Wheeljack to use the Enigma to rebuild the combiner, drafting Powerglide and Alpha Bravo to serve replacement team members. As first contact with the Cybertronian colony world of Caminus approached, Starscream devised a plan to win the adoration of the Camiens by first using the Enigma to recreate Menasor as an out-of-control monster; when Swindle and Menasor attacked Caminus, the Titan detected the Enigma's energy within the rogue combiner and tried to alert his cityspeakers, but they were unable to properly interpret his warnings before Superion arrived to save the day. Starscream used the Enigma to reinvigorate the Aerialbots after Devastator began attacking Caminus's spacebridge, but after realizing that Superion couldn't do it alone, he used the Enigma on a group of bystanders to create Defensor. With Devastator defeated, Starscream sought to turn Devastator's power to his advantage and did so by using the Enigma on Scoop, turning him into a new leg for Devastator while ensuring that his devotion to the "Chosen One" meant that Devastator would obey Starscream's orders. Shortly afterwards, Rattrap, acting on Prowl's orders, was able to steal the Enigma and deliver it to the captive Autobot, who used it on himself, Optimus, and some other Autobots to create Optimus Maximus. At the conclusion of the "Combiner War", the newly-formed Council of Worlds put the Enigma under Badgeless security so that nobody could abuse its power. Not long afterwards, however, Arcee stole it with the intent to destroy it: she wanted to be ensure that Starscream didn't turn people into combiners against their will. Windblade and Chromia gave chase into the Rust Sea. The Camien Torchbearers, who saw destroying a Primal relic as blasphemy, intervened to help Windblade and became a combiner, Victorion, themselves! Eventually Windblade managed to convince Arcee to return the relic, so as to make sure Starscream had no excuse for military action. While courting the favor of the five Titan colonies, Starscream used the Enigma as a means to convince the inhabitants of planet Devisiun to join the Council of Worlds. On Earth, the Autobots aboard the Ark-7 began investigating the source code behind the Onyx operating system; they discovered that every device utilized a highly adaptable code that could "correct" itself and instantaneously pass those changes along to every other Onyx device on Earth. Blackrock himself was aware of this property, and discovered that he could use the data on his Onyx systems to effectively see into the "souls" of every human on Earth... but received his first hint that he himself was not human when he discovered that he couldn't see his own soul. Blackrock was able to use the Onyx source code to take control of the Ark-7 after the Autobots brought one of his devices onto their ship, and granted him the ability to shut down most of the ship's systems. By the time that Blackrock had been fully unmasked as a Cybertronian imposter, Optimus Prime led a team to storm Galvatron's underwater base and Galvatron revealed the full extent of the Enigma's power. With billions of interlinked Onyx devices scattered across Earth, their combined power created a gigantic Enigma of Combination, and a force that that Galvatron could control to his own benefit. He did just that, first breaking Victorion apart and then mish-mashing some of the combatants together to create Galvatronus and Sky Reign. The power of the Enigma was resisted by Superion, who hadn't been created through its energies, and he ultimately found a way to nullify its power. By hacking into the Onyx Interface, copying part of its workings into his neocortex, and splitting into the Aerialbots as he did so, he "erased" a vital part of the code, nullifying the power of the Earth-Enigma so long as he never-reformed. Determined to discover the information that the brain-dead Swindle had on Starscream, Onslaught ordered Rattrap to bring him the Enigma so the Combaticons could see inside Swindle's mind, uniting the five into the destructive Bruticus. In the aftermath, Ironhide demanded that Starscream turn over the Enigma to him, noting it had wandered off too many times to cause mayhem. Starscream was hesitant about parting with his most powerful weapon but the conversation was interrupted before the two could continue. Ask Vector Prime When asked if the Infinite Combinatoric and the Enigma of Combination were connected, Vector Prime cryptically asked the questioner if there was "a connection between Jupiter and Odin and Ahura Mazda and Zeus and Marduk". ''Timelines'' Ratchet was exposed to an "ancient artifact", giving him the power to combine. ''Prime Wars Trilogy'' cartoons Created eons ago by Solus Prime, the Enigma of Combination was responsible for the creation of many new Combiners on Cybertron during the later years of the Great War, leading to the Combiner Wars that followed. The Council of Worlds came into possession of the Enigma and considered using it to stem the conflict, either by creating more Combiners or destroying the existing ones. Windblade, Optimus Prime and Megatron each learned of this and formed an alliance to stop the council's plans. As the council debated using the Enigma to control the Combiners, Optimus's team arrived and attacked, followed shortly thereafter by Devastator. Devastator attempted to claim the Enigma for himself, battling the others and the newly-arrived Victorion for it. With seemingly no choice left, the Council ordered Starscream to use the Enigma to take control of the combatants. Instead, he used it to merge himself with Devastator, Victorion, and the bodies of Computron and Menasor, becoming an unstable super-Combiner. Upon Starscream's defeat, Megatron retrieved the Enigma and gave it to Windblade, who opted to leave it in Victorion's possession, claiming it rightfully belonged to the Combiners. While leaving Metroplex City, Optimus received a vision of the Enigma of Combination from the Matrix of Leadership, leaving him to ponder things to come. To combat the attacking Trypticon, Victorion used the Enigma to merge with Computron, Devastator and Mensaor, becoming a super-Combiner. Ultimately, they were forced to separate again after taking too much damage from Trypticon. Sensing the Enigma in her possession, Trypticon swallowed Victorion and absorbed the Enigma's power, giving him immense strength and new abilities, such as the power to control Combiners. When Trypticon attempted to do the same with the Matrix, it rejected him, forcing him to release it and everything else he had swallowed, including the Enigma. Before Victorion could reclaim it, however, Megatronus appeared and surrounded them with a barrier of flame. After killing Optimus, Megatronus took the Enigma and Matrix for his own and departed in search of the Requiem Blaster. As Megatron's group searched for the Blaster in Primal Swamp, they ran afoul of Predaking, who demanded the Enigma from Victorion and attacked when she failed to produce it. Believing it would help him survive the apocalypse, it took Megatron himself pointing the Requiem Blaster at his face to convince him Victorion didn't have it, though the former Decepticon leader promised they would inform him if they found it. Elsewhere, in the Well of Sparks, Megatronus installed the Enigma and the Matrix into an unknown device. Megatron eventually realized that Megatronus's plan was to use the Enigma to merge the Matrix and the Blaster into a single all-powerful weapon. Returning to the Well of Sparks, Megatronus installed the Blaster into his doomsday weapon and began siphoning the life force from every Transformer's spark. Perceptor attempted to remove the Enigma and the other relics, but his efforts proved unsuccessful as Solus Prime began to return. A concentrated attack by Optimus Primal, Grimlock and Windblade led to the Enigma and Blaster finally being released from the machine. Megatronus attempted to grab them, but was tackled by the heroes. Predaking arrived soon after, still seeking the Enigma, but was quickly and violently dispatched by Megatronus. In the battle's aftermath, Perceptor took possession of the Enigma, studying and protecting it in his lab. ''Transformers: Universe'' The Enigma of Combination appeared in Transformers: Universe. Created eons ago by Solus Prime, the Enigma of Combination was responsible for the creation of many new Combiners on Cybertron and Earth in the Combiner Wars. The Council of Worlds have carefully hidden the Enigma away in a glass case in a giant glass spire visible from almost every sniper nest in the city. During the Decepticon Uprisings, the Decepticons came to claim the Enigma and considered using it to stem the conflict, either by creating more Combiners or destroying the existing ones. Team Prime retrieved the Enigma before the Decepticons. The Dinobots used the Enigma to fuse into Volcanicus to battle Predaking. Starscream 2 used the Enigma to merge himself with Devastator, Menasor, Bruticus, Superion, Defensor and Raiden, becoming an unstable super-Combiner. Upon Starscream's clone's defeat, Perceptor took possession of the Enigma, studying and protecting it in his lab in Autobot City. During the attack on Autobot City, the Enigma was pulled from Perceptor's lab by the Decepticons, along with the Requiem Blaster was stored aboard Galvatron's ship, the Revenge. Bumblebee, Smokescreen and Bulkhead retrieved the Blaster and the Enigma of Combination that was in the Warship's vault. The Enigma was stored aboard the Miranda II. The Torchbearers use the Enigma to fuse into Victorion to battle Devastator. The Bee Team used the Enigma to fuse into Ultra Bee with the help of Vector Prime. Optimus Prime received visions of the future from the Matrix of Leadership, including one of the Enigma united with the Matrix, the Star Saber, the Forge of Solus Prime and the Requiem Blaster, though he knew not its meaning. Games ''Transformers: Earth Wars'' Notes *When listing a handful of the artifacts of the Primes, the novel Exiles mentions the Infinite Combinatoric. Given the abilities its name implies, this might have been an early name for the Enigma. It wouldn't be the only point of confusing discontinuity between artifacts in Exiles. *Some combiners created or enhanced by the Enigma display unusual powers: Superion was able to split his body apart at will and swap legs into arms almost instantaneously, while Defensor was able to detach entire limbs and use them as rocket-propelled projectiles. *Blackrock mentions that the Enigma can tap into the "primal force" of the universe to alter the mass of any given target, providing a tongue-in-cheek explanation for why combiners tend to be several times the size of their components. See also *Spark of Combination Category:Artifacts of the Primes